Putting the Taj up for sale
7 May 2012 1:47 PM GMT
If you haven’t already guessed from the name of the play, then get ready to see history come alive as Shah Jahan comes back from the pages of history to build the memorable Taj Mahal for his beloved Mumtaz Mahal, in the play Taj Mahal Ka Tender.
Convenient as it may sound, if you thought that it was all too easy to build the Taj Mahal, then you’ll be in for a surprise as the play takes the audience for a roller coaster ride of fun, wit , humour and a series of social cross-section that would compel one to think what would have happened if the historical moment could at all have been built in the present context.
We caught up with the director of the play, Anil Sharma, and his crew at the Indian Council of Cultural Relations’ Azad Bhavan.
Sharma has been performing this play for over 10 years now. More than 175 productions have been staged all over the country so far.
‘This play is a comedy on Indian bureaucracy and deals with corruption’, said Sharma.
Through this comedy, the social and political aspects of corruption is highlighted with a dash of humour and sarcasm.
Shah Jahan comes alive 500 years later, cutting across several centuries, to land up in the almost lethargic ‘Indian bureaucratic system’ which leaves you thinking if it is possible to build the Taj Mahal at all, in the present context.
Throughout the play, there is a constant reminder of the problems which Shah Jahan takes one through as he intends to built the Taj Mahal.
Whether the Taj Mahal is eventually built keeps the suspense and the play going throughout.
The misunderstandings created by the Emperor’s whistle to call his henchmen and thereby enraging the Jatni as she assumes it as eve-teasing, results in more chaos and further aggravates the problem.
It reminds us very much of comedy of errors. Though the ultimate problem whether Taj Mahal can be ever built during the lifetime of Shah Jahan in the present scenario is both the problem and an open-ended answer.
Convenient as it may sound, if you thought that it was all too easy to build the Taj Mahal, then you’ll be in for a surprise as the play takes the audience for a roller coaster ride of fun, wit , humour and a series of social cross-section that would compel one to think what would have happened if the historical moment could at all have been built in the present context.
We caught up with the director of the play, Anil Sharma, and his crew at the Indian Council of Cultural Relations’ Azad Bhavan.
Sharma has been performing this play for over 10 years now. More than 175 productions have been staged all over the country so far.
‘This play is a comedy on Indian bureaucracy and deals with corruption’, said Sharma.
Through this comedy, the social and political aspects of corruption is highlighted with a dash of humour and sarcasm.
Shah Jahan comes alive 500 years later, cutting across several centuries, to land up in the almost lethargic ‘Indian bureaucratic system’ which leaves you thinking if it is possible to build the Taj Mahal at all, in the present context.
Throughout the play, there is a constant reminder of the problems which Shah Jahan takes one through as he intends to built the Taj Mahal.
Whether the Taj Mahal is eventually built keeps the suspense and the play going throughout.
The misunderstandings created by the Emperor’s whistle to call his henchmen and thereby enraging the Jatni as she assumes it as eve-teasing, results in more chaos and further aggravates the problem.
It reminds us very much of comedy of errors. Though the ultimate problem whether Taj Mahal can be ever built during the lifetime of Shah Jahan in the present scenario is both the problem and an open-ended answer.
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